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Medical use of marijuana approved fpr N.S.W

Samadhi

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Just saw the report on 7 news. From what i heard, it will only be available to people with terminal illness such as cancer and HIV, enabling people who can't eat due to nausea to stomach food. Looks like it will come into play by the end of the year! A step in the right direction!:D I am surprised though, that it wasn't South Australia or the ACT that first trialed it...

S
 
I also heard that if a person has any previous history of marijuana use then they won't be eligible for the program :(
Mind you, a previous history of use may mean a person doesn't need to source the synthetic or refined variety ;)

Anyway, this is a great step in the right direction. Acknowledging the medical benefits of cannabis products is long overdue. Many synthetic cannabinoids have been developed in recent times. One really promising compound which doesn't get you high but has a high affinity for C2 receptors is the metabolic product of the very potent homologue 1,2 dimethylheptyl THC. The metabolite (the carboxylic acid or "oic") has potent NSAID properties.

Therapeutically Useful Cannabinoids
Using THC-7-oic acid as a template molecule, we have designed and studied several dimethylheptyl side-chain analogs that show similar antiinflammatory properties, but at doses as low as 10 to 100µg/kg p.o.


Another compound, (+) 7-OH-delta 6 -THC- DMH (33) is reportedly more potent than morphine as an analgesic.

Structure-Activity Relationship of Cannabinoids

.... a couple of other good reads

Cannabinoid Receptors (CB1 and CB2)

Design, Synthesis and Pharmacology of Cannabimimetic Indoles



Let's hope sensibility prevails and more research is directed towards cannabinoid drug discovery. Hats off to NSW!
 
from http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/20/1053196584933.html

Legalised cannabis will be prescribed to people suffering from chronic pain or wasting illnesses under a four-year trial to be run by the NSW Health Department.

The State Government aims to introduce draft legislation to govern the trial during the current parliamentary sitting, with the trial to begin next year.

It would include hundreds of people with cancer, HIV, severe or chronic pain, MS-related muscle spasticity, spinal cord injury or nausea caused by chemotherapy.

The Government is yet to outline how the cannabis would be distributed to participants.



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Options include allowing them to grow a limited number of marijuana plants, but a spokesman for the Special Minister for State, John Della Bosca, said it was more likely cannabis would be prescribed like other medicines.

Announcing the trial in parliament yesterday, the Premier, Bob Carr, said new cannabis derivatives developed by the British company GW Pharmaceuticals, including an inhaler-type spray and a tablet, would be considered.

An Office of Medicinal Cannabis will be set up within the Health Department to run the trial and possibly distribute the drugs.

Medicinal users with a medical certificate from a doctor with whom "they had an ongoing and genuine medical relationship" would register with the office annually.

People would be ineligible if they had been convicted of a drug offence other than minor personal use, were on parole, or under 18, or pregnant.

The Government has been considering the trial since the 2000 Drug Summit, when it set up a working group to study the issue.

Mr Della Bosca's spokesman said the draft legislation was complicated, with a series of legal hurdles to be overcome. He said laws must be changed to allow cannabis to be grown or for a drug company to register a cannabis derivative.

The Opposition Leader, John Brogden, said he would support the proposal if the cultivation and distribution of cannabis and eligibility criteria for inclusion in the trial were tightly controlled.

The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon called for a broader trial open to children dying from degenerative diseases.

Mr Carr emphasised that the Government did not support decriminalisation of cannabis for recreational use.

"The case against the decriminalisation of cannabis is stronger than ever," he said.

He said the working group found that law-abiding people had been forced to turn to the black market to ease their pain.

"No decent government can stand by while fellow Australians suffer like that, while decent, ordinary people feel like criminals for simply medicating themselves."

The president of the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said it supported the trial.

He said there was strong anecdotal evidence that cannabis eased the symptoms of sufferers of the diseases listed and could be more effective than drugs now available.

But he said it was important that "non-traditional" methods of delivery were used.

"You have to be able to properly control the dose," he said.

"Also, smoking cannabis is as harmful or more harmful than smoking tobacco. As a doctor I could not support that."

The spokesman for the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Paul Dillon, said the working group found anecdotal and research evidence supporting the use of cannabis and its derivatives existed, but a greater number of controlled trials were needed.

He said clinics in California offered patients cannabis in its natural form, while other United States trials had investigated using so-called canniboids, which contain a synthetic form of the active chemical in cannabis, THC.

English trials had already experimented with THC in tablet form, Mr Dillon said.


How the Premier changed his mind

When the Upper House MP Paul O'Grady rang Premier Bob Carr in January 1995 to tell him he was quitting politics, he also unwittingly set in train the first, tentative steps towards yesterday's major reform.

His immune system depleted by HIV, his weight plummeting to 52 kilograms, Mr O'Grady decided his body couldn't stand the rigours of Parliament any longer. He also explained to the Premier the role cannabis can play for patients living with chronic pain.
 
As someone who should fit into one of their little boxes for the trial (i'm getting closer and closer to saying on BL which little box it is, and some readers have probably put the pieces together by now) and given that I already smoke to control certain symptoms this is quite exciting. Somehow I have been incredibly lucky in terms of never having had run ins with the wallopers, but , nevertheless, the idea that, in at least one aspect of my use, I can actually do it without fear of prosecution, has put me in a decidedly good mood since yesterday afternoon (well, there was some assistance in that...)
There are, as always concerns
NUAA staff were interviewed and aired on some TV news last night, so we spent a fair bit of time analysing the Premier's media release and working out how we felt about it.
Actually, the statement so far has been fairly non-specific, which is possibly a good thing, because it means stakeholders like PLWHA, ACON and NUAA may have more ability to ensure just terms for the research trial.
But...

Conditions which may entitle the person to be registered to use marijuana medicinally:
Cancer
HIV/ AIDS
Chronic pain (now that has some scope..)
Multiple Schlerosis

Exclusions
Pregnant
Less than 18 years old
Criminal convictions other than "minor posession/ use charges" - this was our primary concern. Many users find themselves up on supply charges at some stage. Those living with symptomatic HIV or late stage Hepatitis C are often forced into economic siatuations where they are physically unable to work, and where their health costs - including illicit pain relief - are not being covered by a Disability Support Pension; supply becomes their only real choice for cash. Pain is pain, and pain relief is a basic right. To exclude someone experiencing the same symptoms simply because they violated a bullshit law at some stage in the past is cruel and unusual punishment - making people continue to suffer a penalty long after their "debt to society" was supposed to have been paid.

The other major concern is that this should not be used as a "substitute" for more widespread drug law reform. Carr was on radio this morning strongly stressing the point that he opposed marijuana decriminalisation.
A well-researched trial into the palliative care effects of marijuana, and particularly the nature of its interactions with other medications is quite overdue, and an important step in improving quality of life for those of us living with chronic illnesses.
But its only one very small piece in a much larger jigsaw of ending oppression of drug users.
 
It seems good but I mean it isn't really necessary. Just buy your own stash, laws for marijuana are relaxed if it is for personal use and if you are dieing a criminal record ain't that bad. ;)
 
nc. said:
.... and if you are dieing a criminal record ain't that bad. ;)

Thing is, many of the conditions are actually long-term, chronic illnesses - its not a case of Death popping in after the salmon mousse (given you winked i realise it was somewhat tongue in cheek, and so a light-hearted response.) But it is a common misconception, so worth debunking.
When I first had my diagnosis almost 10 years ago it was thought I would die within a few years, and indeed before some important treatment breakthroughs I got quite close on two occasions; daily hospital visits, surgery, critically low weight.
With the breakthroughs, attitudes towards our prognoses changed, and suddenly I had a "chronic, long-term, painful but manageable illness." It meant, among many other things, having to think about finances over a much longer period, and that basically meant working.
When you're sick, and with a number of these conditions in particular, stress can be a major factor in deteriorating health - after financial stress, exhaustion, fucked up neurotransmitter and hormone levels because of medication side-effects, and the discrimination which accompanies living with some of the listed conditions - things can push you over your stress threshhold very quickly.
Court case and cop bullshit is one thing we definitely don't need.
 
Medicinal marijuana being introduced is a great step to overall legalisation of the holy herb. This magical plant has to be properly researched though before they start prescribing synthetic THC. I personally believe that synthetic THC is actually quite harmful and is missing many canabinoid components that make for a relaxing high which is what sufferers of terminal ilness really need. Synthetic THC can also give you a really bad headache....

Peace Out

Dirty Deed
 
NEWS: The Age 22 May 03: Howard supports marijuana for pain relief

Howard supports marijuana for pain relief
May 22 2003
By Chee Chee Leung


The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes has won the backing of Prime Minister John Howard.

Mr Howard said yesterday he was "all in favour" of using marijuana for pain relief, but only when there was no mainstream treatment available and when it was dispensed by a doctor in tablet or spray form.

"I am totally opposed to the decriminalisation of marijuana and I remain very strongly opposed to that," Mr Howard said in an interview with The West Australian.

"But you are dealing here with the relief of pain and suffering and essentially where people's quality of life has already been not only severely degraded but also potentially threatened.

"And in those circumstances it seems to me to be a proper human reaction to say if somebody who could be dying of cancer, whose pain could be relieved by marijuana, then I'm all in favour of it."

Mr Howard was speaking a day after the NSW Government announced a four-year trial of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

"My personal view is that . . . provided it doesn't take the form of being permitted to grow marijuana - in other words it's dispensed in some way, tablet or spray - I would give it in-principle support," Mr Howard said.

He said the case against the decriminalisation of marijuana was stronger than ever. "It's dangerous in its own right. There are strong links between marijuana dependency and depression, strong links between marijuana dependency and schizophrenia," he said.

"I've heard some of the most passionate denunciations of marijuana by people who have socially liberal views on so many other things."

But his position was at odds with federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson, who said a trial was "difficult to support".

Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike said the medicinal use of marijuana should be debated nationwide, but said Victoria was not looking at a similar program.

She said she would take "a lot of convincing" to permit a trial.

The AIDS Council of Victoria said the experience of people with HIV showed that marijuana was an effective way of dealing with pain without the side-effects associated with other pain relief.

The council's executive director, Mike Kennedy, urged Victoria and other states not to wait for a national consensus on the issue before taking any action.

The Australian Medical Association of Victoria supports a trial.

From: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/21/1053196639583.html

BigTrancer :)
 
From the Herald-Sun online:

Call for drug debate

22may03

THE medicinal use of marijuana should be debated nationally before any trials of the banned drug would be considered in Victoria, the State Government said yesterday.

Health Minister Bronwyn Pike called for the controversial marijuana trials to be listed on the agenda of the next meeting of state and federal health ministers.
The New South Wales Government announced this week it would begin Australia's first marijuana trial this year to help people suffering chronic pain such as cancer and HIV/AIDS sufferers.

NSW Premier Bob Carr said yesterday a pharmaceutical invention that allowed cannabis to be sprayed under the tongue would be considered for use in the trial.

From: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6472453%5E2862,00.html

Herald-Sun Editorial:

Caution on dope

22may03

THE New South Wales decision to test cannabis for medical treatment of pain will be controversial.

But the move has bipartisan support in NSW and is in line with nine US states, Canada and the Netherlands, where marijuana has been legalised for medical use.
Pot is now recognised as a dangerous drug which, as well as sapping motivation, can cause serious psychiatric illness.

But it is also recognised as a palliative for the chronically ill in extreme pain.

Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike wants the issue raised at the next meeting of state and federal health ministers. She is rightly worried about the consequences of blurring what should be a clear distinction between illegal marijuana abuse and its medical use.

We must be sure marijuana's medical use would not send the wrong message.

From: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6471650%5E24218,00.html

BigTrancer :)
 
Beattie rejects drug trial
By Steven Wardill
22may03


QUEENSLANDERS suffering painful diseases will not get access to a clinical trial of medicinal marijuana.

Premier Peter Beattie yesterday ruled out mirroring a marijuana trial announced on Tuesday by NSW premier Bob Carr.
The trial will be an Australian-first, with Mr Carr stressing the move did not clear the way for legalising marijuana.

"The case against the decriminalisation of cannabis is stronger than ever," he said.

Mr Beattie, who was a member of a group of MPs from across the nation who publicly supported cannabis decriminalisation prior to becoming premier, said there was no need to run the same trial in two states.

"We will study the outcomes but we will not be having a similar trial here," he said.

Mr Beattie said his Government had already introduced a range of reforms in the drug area, including drug courts and a clinical naltrexone trial.

However, he has been a strong opponent of heroin trials and supervised injecting rooms and has clashed heavily with former Brisbane lord mayor Jim Soorley on the issue.

NSW will begin its four-year trial allowing medical use of cannabis by the end of this year.

Only people suffering chronically painful and wasting diseases, such as cancer and HIV, will have access to the drug and their doctor will have to provide a medical certificate.

People with past drug convictions in any state, other than for minor use, or who are on parole will not be eligible to register for the trial.

Disease sufferers under 18 will also not be eligible.

The NSW Government has not said how it plans to distribute the drug but prescribing it like other medicines is likely.

Mr Carr said the Government would consider cannabis inhalers and tablets which had been developed by a British pharmaceuticals company.

From: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6473158%5E421,00.html

BigTrancer :)
 
I hope that sick people can get the relief they need from these new cannabis based medicines. Does any1 know more detail about how the UK spray works, and what symptoms it effects etc? The pills i know are bunk and next to useless for most people. If the medications are effective, we may finally have a solution to this suffering that more people can accept.
 
Yay!

I'm really glad that there is at least one more avenue available to those people suffering from severe pain/nausea. :)

What irritates me though is the way the goverments keep stressing that they must keep cannabis illegal for the same properties that it friggin helps people.

-plaz out-
 
So i have chronic pain (spinal and migraines).. i can take pain meds for it but it makes me lethargic and some times if i have enough i just fall asleep where ever i am. Do you reckon that this is the type of chronic pain they are talking about?
My dad also has the same problems as me, but theres no way he would ever touch weed. I wonder what kind of advertising (as such) they will do to get people to stop thinking as it as a recreational drug..?
 
I would say that the range of disorders addressed in the initial trials will be quite limited, possibly only using palliative care patients and chronic (long term) pain sufferers.

A similar trial that took place in Britain found that most people could gain relief without the need for doses high enough to cause euphoria. The trial used extracted preparations and a newer dronabinol spray version. Both the extract and this synthetic THC were self administered, but as we are generally talking of straight people here, most tried to avoid intoxication by keeping dosage down. Different ailments required different doses, and allowing for individual degrees of pain, patients were encouraged to experiment with the dose to establish an effective level of relief, but without feeling high (yeah right!)

The conclusion from most of these trials was that cannabis extract & dronabinol were effective at relieving pain at LOW dosages. So it would be rather fanciful to think of getting a weeks stone power from the GP, specially at the rate some put away the choof!!

The move is great, purely for those who suffer unnecessarily. If dope becomes less demonised then great, but don't expect overnight legislation and legal pot for headaches. It's just not going to happen IMO. Perhaps with migraines, where none of the many conventional treatments work, there may be a case for prescribing dronabinol, but I would imagine that like any potentially abusable drug, qualifying for subscription approval won't be easy.
 
This is nice to see but since Carr's stand on recreational use of marijuana hasn't changed I don't see how this will have any effect on the majority of users. That said, it's good that terminally ill people with chronic pain won't have to worry about acting outside the law to get relief anymore.
 
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